Notes: Cole looks sharp in final tuneup

NEW YORK -- For Gerrit Cole, who spent years imagining an opportunity to pitch in a meaningful game for the Yankees, that dream is now oh-so-close to becoming reality -- even if it might not look exactly how the right-hander would have pictured it in his childhood bedroom.

“Gosh, it's going to be fun,” Cole said. “It's going to have fake crowd noise and it's going to be 2020 coronavirus baseball, but I'll get to put the road jersey on for the first time -- New York across the chest -- so I’m stoked about that. I’m stoked about playing in some high-stakes games with the boys. It's been a while since we've been out there to do that.”

Cole completed his final tuneup on Friday as he prepares for the July 23 opener against the Nationals, firing 87 pitches over 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball. Cole faced the minimum through three innings, then surrendered back-to-back solo homers to Mike Ford and Miguel Andújar in the fourth. Cole scattered four hits, striking out seven and hitting a batter.

“In a lot of ways, his fastball was even a little bit better today,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He got clipped a couple times, but I thought the quality of it, the profile of it -- everything was really good. Now he gets that extra day to recover going into that Opening Day start. I'm excited for him and where he's at right now.”

• Projecting the Yankees' Opening Day roster

While the first three innings seemed breezy, with Cole erasing a Mike Tauchman leadoff single by inducing Ford to hit into a double play, the ace had to grind after the homers. In the fifth, Cole hit Matt Duffy on the shoulder, then recorded a groundout before Estevan Florial legged out an infield hit and stole second base. With the infield in, Cole responded by striking out Kyle Holder, then retired Tauchman on a ground ball.

“I don't like to get beat [on home runs], but I thought we obviously got through the workload well,” Cole said. “I got some feel for the breaking ball back there, because we needed to execute a couple to get out of the jam. I’ve got my pitches, and I feel like I have a good toolbox to go to work with to try to win a ballgame.”

Rise of 'The Machine'
DJ LeMahieu took ground balls on the Yankee Stadium infield and worked out in the weight room on Friday, the infielder’s first Summer Camp action after recovering from an asymptomatic case of COVID-19.

Boone said LeMahieu will continue to work out in the Bronx on Saturday, and that he will gather live at-bats over the next four or five days. Boone said it “would be a pretty quick turnaround” if LeMahieu were in the lineup for Opening Day, though he did not rule it out.

“When you’re one of the best in the world at [putting] bat-to-ball, you’re probably going to be up to speed a little quicker,” Boone said. “I don’t worry so much about DJ finding his timing. I’m sure he’ll want to gather as many live at-bats as he can, but I’m pretty certain that’ll come back quick.”

Boone said his main concern would be with the strength of LeMahieu’s legs, intending to build him up to play nine innings on back-to-back days in the field. Prior to Summer Camp, LeMahieu spent several months at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, Fla., where he worked frequently with hitting coach Marcus Thames.

“He's a baseball rat,” Thames said. “He knows the game. He knows his swing. He knows what guys are trying to do to him, so that part will help him out, but he's still human. He's still got to get some at-bats, and he's got to get some reps.”

Role call
Had the season started as scheduled, Clint Frazier was in line to receive a sizable amount of playing time while Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton recovered from injuries. Instead, Frazier appears to be waging an uphill battle for at-bats, part of a crowded outfield mix that also includes Andújar, Brett Gardner, Tauchman and Tyler Wade.

“I think it’s pretty natural to let your mind wander to those areas,” Frazier said. “Something I’ve learned the last couple of years is to stop trying to play GM. I have a role. I don’t know what that role is going to be. As the season continues to unfold, we’ll figure out what all of our roles might be. Hopefully it’s one that gets to play a big part and a consistent role if I earn it.”

Frazier said he received both positive and negative feedback on social media after voicing his intention to wear a mask during games this season.

“I got called a ‘sheep’ by some people, but it's all good,” Frazier said. “Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but with the situation that we're in and with how fragile this virus is for some people, I'm not really too worried about the negative feedback. I think it's the right thing to protect myself, others around me and everyone else that everyone goes home to. We want to win the World Series, and the way to do that is to be healthy.”

Pumping in
For the first time, the Yankees experimented with artificial crowd noise during Friday’s intrasquad game, in an attempt to simulate a more normal environment for the players. The ‘crowd’ volume spiked from a dull rumble to a roar when pitches were put in play, and players’ chosen walk-up music was played prior to at-bats.

“It kind of sounds the same if you're in your zone and you're not really paying attention, but the Yankee fans sound a lot better than the manufactured sound,” Cole said. “I'm not looking much up into the stands while I'm trying to throw pitches, so I didn't mind it. I liked it better than the music, because it was kind of more white noise.”

Worth noting
The Yankees have released right-hander Adam Warren from his Minor League contract. Warren, who turns 33 in August, was not expected to pitch this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery performed in September.

Up next
The Yankees are set to play their first exhibition of Summer Camp on Saturday, traveling across town to meet the Mets at Citi Field for a 7:10 p.m. ET contest. Right-hander Michael King will draw the start for the Bombers, opposite right-hander Rick Porcello. Watch live on MLB.TV.